Ear foreign bodies.

Abstract

Background/objectives: Ear foreign bodies are common otorhinolaryngological emergencies which must be removed otherwise they may present with various complications. This paper reviews cases of ear foreign bodies seen over a seven year period from January 1995 to December 2001 in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Sokoto, Nigeria.
Method: This is a retrospective study of all case folders of patients who presented with ear foreign bodies whose clinical features and management modalities were analyzed .
Results: The total number of patients reviewed were 207.There were 126males (60%) and 81 females (40%) with a male to female ratio of 1.5:1.Their ages ranged from 1 to 65years with 61.8% being children under 10years old. Agricultural seed was the commonest documented foreign body (15%). Deliberate insertion by patients accounted for 70% of the cases while accidental insertion accounted for 30%. Ear foreign bodies became complicated in 41 patients (19.8%) at presentation one of them requiring a major surgical operation (posterior tympanotomy) to remove the foreign body. About 99.5% of the foreign bodies were removed through the per meatal approach with 79.8% being carried out by
the nurses and doctors who had received basic training to do so.
Conclusion: Ear foreign bodies may become complicated and so needs to be removed using standard methods which should be carried out by those specially trained to do so.

Keywords: Ear foreign bodies, clinical profile, Nigeria

Annals of African Medicine Vol. 7 (1) 2008 pp. 18-23